The invention relates to a profile member including a current rail.
Current rails are widely used in electrical installations and have the advantage that the electrical energy can be fed-in by means of a feeder in an arbitrary position and can be tapped by means of adapters, to which electrical loads are connectable, also at arbritary positions. It is also known to integrate such current rails into profile members which at the same time have a supporting function in racks, furniture components and the like.
It is an object of the invention to provide a profile member including a current rail and having a variaty of utilities.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by the feature that the profile member has two profile openings having internal cross-sections with identical shapes, into which a current rail profile is detachably insertable.
In this profile member, one and the same current rail profile may be inserted into either of the two profile openings as desired by the user, so that the feeders and/or adapters can be arranged not only in arbritrary longitudinal positions but also on two different sides of the cross-section of the profile member. Thus, an optimal arrangement of the adapters in accordance with the intended use is made possible. Of course, it is also possible to insert two identical current rail profiles in both profile openings, thereby to form a duplex current rail.
The invention therefore relates also to a profile member which is characterized in that two parallel current rails are integrated in the same profile member.
Useful embodiments of the invention are indicated in the dependent claims.
In the last-mentioned embodiment, the electrical conductors of the two current rails may belong to different circuits. This offers the possibility, for example in illumination installations, to switch or dim the lamps, that are connected to the different current rails, group-wise.
In a generalisation of the inventive concept it is also possible that the profile member forms more than two profile openings for current rail profiles and/or accommodates more than two parallel current rails.
The different current rails may also be supplied with different voltages. Thus, it is possible for example to use one current rail as a line-current rail for supplying electrical equipment such as hi-fi systems, TV sets and the like with the line voltage of 230V, whereas the other current rail is used as a low-voltage current rail for halogen lamps that are energized with a DC voltage of 12 or 24 V. Preferably, the two or more current rails have nevertheless an identical construction, satisfying the requirements for a line-current rail in terms of insulation, touch pevention and presence of a ground wire, while on the other hand the cross-sections of the conductors are adapted to the generally larger current intensities for low-voltage equipments.
The two profile openings and the two current rails, respectively, may be arranged in the profile member such that they are accessible from the same side or from opposite sides. In a preferred embodiment, the profile member, as a whole, has an approximately elliptic cross-section, and the two profile openings are arranged diametrically opposite to one another on the large axis of the ellipse. The profile member may for example be formed by an extruded profile of aluminum or an aluminum alloy and is preferably provided, in addition to the profile openings for the current rails, with one or more installation grooves, arranged for example diametrically opposite to one another on the small axis of the ellipse, for fastening rack shelves or other furniture components. Thus, the profile member may for example be used as an upright for racks or as a supporting upright for cupboards, and the electrical power for lamps and other loads can be tapped on the front side or on the back side of the upright depending upon the demand.
When one of the current rails, that are designed for line voltage, is used for a low-voltage system, the ground wire may be utilized for forming, per current rail, two electric circuits which can be switched separately. In low-voltage appliances, an additional circuit may also be formed by utilizing the metal profile member itself as an electrical conductor.
The current rail profiles that are detachably inserted in the profile member are preferably formed by extruded profiles of plastic which can be snap-fastened in the profile openings of the profile member and in which the electrical conductors are embedded such that they are insulated from the profile member.
Seats for a thrust-in or snap-in cover profile may be formed at the edge of the profile openings. The profile opening that is not used for accommodating a current rail profile may be blindfolded by means of the cover profile. Likewise it is possible that the current rail profile, which is preferably provided in the form of an endless material, is inserted only in certain longitudinal portions of the profile member. The remaining longitudinal portions may then be covered with the cover profile. Optionally, the cover profile may also be provided over the current rail profile, so that parts of the current rail profile which serve only for electrically connecting adjacent parts, that are accessible for adapters, are blindfolded by means of the cover profiles.